Seize the storm

Previous post about RJ 

James Oliver Rigney, Jr., also known by his pen name, Robert Jordan passed away yesterday, September 16, 2007.  According to various postings I’ve read, his passing was peaceful with his wife at his side.  His last words were given to his wife, a whispering of love for her.  The main blog site is down right now, I assume from overload of bandwidth.  I also read on another site that a toast to RJ will be on Wednesday @ 5:15 ET, RJ’s favorite drink was cognac if you’d like to toast him to his own beverage.

For those concerned with the status of the last book in A Memory of Light, I have read on another site that RJ did spend much of his final days dictating outlines and plot details to what he called, “an army of writers.”  So rest assured, at this point it looks as though the book is still on schedule to be published.

To RJ, rest in peace - thank you for the years of wonderful reading.  One day, we’ll discuss your magnum opus on the farm in Two Rivers.  Sleep well, and wake my friend.

 (Picture from Tor’s website)

Robert Jordan is the author of The Wheel of Time series.  On March 25, 2006, he officially posted that he got this disease and I found out just the other day.  The disease is called amyloidosis.  It is something like an altered protein that can cause hardening of the organs.  So he is going to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN to get treatment.  Basically they have to give him chemo and kill off all of his bone marrow, then take certain steps to rebuild the systems of the body.

The bad thing is that he might only have a year to live…however, he has made it abundantly clear on Tor’s website and an official blog that he is going to fight this and he’s going to make it.  He says something to the effect of “everyone knows someone who was supposed to die within a year and has lived 20 more.”

In my sympathetic mind, I thought about driving over to Rochester and visiting him but I’m sure he doesn’t need fans bothering him while he’s getting chemo.  So I’ll still probably send a card or something.

 Important note: He will be finishing A Memory of Light, which is the last book in the Wheel of Time series.  So there’s no danger!!  Apparently at a signing once, this group of bikers came and threatened to desecrate his grave if he didn’t finish the books before he died (as they heard he was really sick) but this was way before he came down with the disease and just had a really bad cold.

 So if you could, please remember him in your prayers!